Led by BioNTech, six biotechs line up for October IPOs

October: The season of swirling red leaves, Jack-o-lanterns, postseason baseball and this year, a fresh harvest of six biotech IPOs ripe with clinical-stage drugs, trying to raise a combined $817 million next week.

All of the companies have earmarked a substantial portion of the expected proceeds to clinical work, pushing such therapies as mRNA for melanoma, inebilizumab for NMOSD, and antibodies for blood cancer and solid tumors closer to trials.